Glenn Thompson (born 6 December 1964)[1] is an Australian musician who first came to prominence in Brisbane, Queensland, playing in the popular local bands Madam Bones Brothel with Pearly Black and John Rodgers, and COW with Robert Moore and David McCormack.[2] Thompson played drums with Robert Forster of The Go-Betweens on his second solo album Calling from a Country Phone in 1993.[3] He then toured Europe in 1994 with Forster and members of German band Baby You Know, Robert Pöschl and Michael Schott. For Robert Forster's world tour of 1996, Thompson was joined by Adele Pickvance on bass. Thompson and Pickvance were called Warm Nights after Forster's fourth solo release which was also titled Warm Nights.[4]
Music career
In 1997, Thompson joined Brisbane band Custard.[5] He was a member for the recording of their third album We Have The Technology in Easley Studios, Memphis, in 1997 and Loverama in Brisbane in 1999. Thompson wrote the unexpected hit "Music Is Crap", which made it into the list of the 50 best songs from the state of Queensland, as named by music critic Noel Mengel in 2013.[6]
Custard split in 2000 after years of heavy touring and low CD sales. David McCormack founder and lead singer of Custard went on to form the Titanics with Thompson, journalist Emma Tom, and filmmaker/video artist Tina Havelock-Stevens. The Titanics released Love Is The Devil in 2000 and disbanded in 2001.
Robert Forster[7] reformed The Go-Betweens with co-founder Grant McLennan and bassist Adele Pickvance to record The Friends of Rachel Worth in 2000 with Janet Weiss of Sleater Kinney on drums. Thompson replaced German drummer Mathias Strauder when the world tour to promote Rachel Worth reached Australia for the 2001 Big Day Out.[8] Thompson went on to play on the Go-Betweens next two records, Bright Yellow Bright Orange and Oceans Apart,[9] he was a member of the band until its demise in 2006 with the death of Grant McLennan.
Thompson formed Beachfield[10] in 2006 as a vehicle for his songwriting. Brighton Bothways, Beachfield's first album, was released in Europe in 2007.
Pickvance, Thompson and Forster reconvened in 2007 to record Forsters fifth solo album The Evangelist.[11]
In 2010, he formed a duo with Adele Pickvance from The Go-Betweens, called Adele&Glenn. They released the album Carrington Street on Glitterhouse Records in 2012.[12]
In July 2013, Thompson was named in the top ten greatest alternative music drummers in Australia.[13]
Thompson's most recent concerts in Sydney's inner west have been with a three-piece family band called The Answers with his son Wintah on electric guitar and daughter Nellie on synthesiser.[14]
The first new album by Custard in 16 years, Come Back, All Is Forgiven, was recorded and mixed by Thompson at his Horses of Australia Studio, in 2015.[15]
Thompson works as an art exhibition manager at Carriageworks Sydney.
Custard's seventh studio album, The Common Touch, was also mixed by Thompson and released in October 2017.[16]
